Ohio bill would push ignition locks for drunken drivers

Annie Rooney was 36 when she was killed in a drunken driving crash just west of Chillicothe on July 4, 2013. Soon after her death, the Rooney family began looking for a way to strengthen Ohio’s drunken driving laws.(Photo: Submitted photo)

A bill inspired by a Chillicothe attorney killed by a drunken driver in 2013 has been reintroduced nearly a year after push back from judges killed it while still in committee.

The bill aims to strengthen the law regarding ignition interlock devices and encourage first-time offenders to voluntarily use the device.

Rep. Gary Scherer, R-Circleville, who co-sponsored the initial bill with Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, hopes the tweaks, made after meeting with judges about their concerns earlier this year, will be enough to get it out of committee and in front of the full House for a vote.

"I absolutely believe the Ohio Judicial Conference should be happier with this version because it's not imposing mandatory sentencing (of an ignition interlock device) for the first offense," Scherer said. "It hopefully (improves compliance) with the sentences they're giving."

The judicial conference had expressed concerns about judges losing discretion in sentencing first-time drunken driving offenders. The bill aimed to require all first-time drunken driving offenders to use an ignition interlock device on their vehicles for six months. An ignition interlock device requires a person to exhale into it to test the breath for alcohol content. If the content is above the device’s programmed limit, it prevents the vehicle from being started.

Currently, judges have the discretion to sentence offenders to use the devices; they are mandated only for people who have a second offense within six years.

The new legislation focuses on improving monitoring of ignition interlock devices and providing incentives for first-time offenders choosing to use an ignition interlock device. The bill aims to require notification by the manufaturer to the Department of Public Safety when a device registers a failed attempt. Any violations within two months of an interlock device's scheduled removal would result in the device remaining in place longer, Scherer said.

The bill is named for Chillicothe attorney Annie Rooney, whose 2013 death led to her family’s fight to strengthen Ohio’s drunken driving laws. Shira Seymour, of Bainbridge, was sentenced to the maximum eight years in prison for Rooney’s death. Seymour had a previous impaired driving charge that had been pleaded down to physical control.

Rooney's father, Dr. Richard Rooney, hopes the bill will make it out of committee this time for a full vote from the House.

"I am happy," he said. "I wanted very much (for the bill) to go forward. It's not perfect, but I think it's more than an incremental change."